


Coexisting

by Mizu7



Series: Roommates AU [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Brotp, F/F, I swear its happy, M/M, Modern AU, as a small apology, fluffy shit for the masses, roommates au, why doesnt anyone believe me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-22
Updated: 2016-08-24
Packaged: 2018-08-10 10:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7841293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mizu7/pseuds/Mizu7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a nasty break up with her fiance, Amelie moves in with her best friend outside of the city to start over. They have a funny way of showing how much they care but in the end they would die for each other. A friendly jogger runs by their apartment balcony everyday, her bright eyes and playful smile is a nice change of pace. Amelie will find out she's not the only one in need of a second chance at life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Moving In

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a roommate AU by Madame-Lacroix on tumblr. Thank you for letting me do my own take on it!

_“Ah…Mama…si….si pero uno momento_ …ay Ame!”

Amelie barely had time to drop the stack of books in her hands to catch the phone that was hurled at her from across the room, she hissed as some of the said books landed on her foot but she caught it and promptly flipped her new roommate off as he laughed and smooched at her.

Phone in hand, she cleared her throat and put on her thickest accent in her sweetest voice,” _Bonjour Madam Reyes_ ~”

Gabriel rolled his eyes into the sun as his mother on the other end of the phone squealed with joy,” _Mija! Mi corazon_ it’s so good to hear your voice again”

Pushing aside the pile of clothes she was supposed to put away from the small couch, she flopped into it, readjusting the cell phone from one side to the other, deeming it now as break time.

“Good to hear you too, I’ve missed you”

“Ame’ I heard what happened. I’m so sorry are you alright?”

She paused a moment before responding,“I’m…doing much better now thank you” she smiled, purposely avoiding eye contact with Gabe, she didn’t need to see him to know he looked concerned. However in doing so, she realized too late that her eyes trailed to her hand, where a few weeks ago a beautiful engagement ring sat.

“It all worked out in the end if you think about it, Gabby needed a roommate, my new job starts soon and it’s down the street from here” she laughed it off,”I’ll be fine it was for the best”

“ _Ay mija_ , you’re too strong. Visit me soon _por favor_. I’ll cook for you again”

Amelie grinned at the thought of her food, for free no less,”Oh trust me, it will be soon”

“But….I do have a favor to ask of you”

“Anything”

“It’s about Jack…”

Amelie bit her lip, holding in the urge to backhand the oblivious man in the kitchen and laugh in his face,” It’s alright, I’m already on it”

His mother let out a long sigh of relief,”He was such a good boy to my son and I know Gabe is stubborn…”

“I will not rest until it’s done”

“What are you two planning over there?!” Gabe called out, waving the box cutter around at her in a not so threatening like manner.

She scoffed, holding a hand over the receiving end of the phone to yell back, “She’s asking me to make sure you clean your underwear asshole”

“ _Besa mi culo puta_ ” he spit out insults like venom but continued to rearrange his bowls and cups to add her personal ones in the kitchen cupboard.  

“ _Gracias Mija,_ I’ll talk to you both again soon”

“ _Merci_ Reyes, until next time”

Moving in was easy, most of the furniture was Gerard’s and he had every intention of keeping it, as well as the nice apartment in the hills they once shared. In less than a week, her world was pulled out from under her but luckily her best friend and resident asshole was there to catch her.

She took the second bedroom where Gabe’s old roommate once was, Jesse took off after moving in with his boyfriend. It still smelled of cheap cigars and even cheaper cologne but a few candles and open windows it was just fine.

Her books, movies and dishes were added to his collection, toiletries, way too many shoes for her closet to handle and clothes were put away and that was that. Amelie was moved in.

The two plopped on the couch, staring at the tv that remained blank, settling into the comfortable silence that had not truly been felt since their high school days.

Until a very audible grumble broke the stillness.

“…that chinese place is near here isn’t it”

Gabriel groaned,“Oh god no”

But Amelie was on her feet already calling for take out,“Too late, it’s happening”

“Ame, you’ve been living here for less than an hour we are not going to argue about this”

But she was already halfway into her order, her hand up to Gabe’s face as he attempted to shout over her. He concedes, just this once claiming it was her first day in her new home and he felt generous, also he wanted an extra side of fried rice.

“Pizza next time” he grumbled, bumping his shoulder against her as he swiped the small box of rice.

“That place is disgusting, have you no taste?”

He paused, chopsticks full of fried rice just inches from his mouth as he gasped, utterly offended,“I don’t know if this is gonna work Ame”

She laughed, leaning against the counter top with take out box of noodles in hand, “Too bad for the both of us then, but I guess we’re going to have to make it work….Besides it could be worse” she shrugged, taking a look around at her new home. It was very different than her previous place, it was much smaller but didn’t feel cramped at all. Gabe was rough around the edges and a jerk but at least he was a clean one.

He paused for a moment, watching her take in her surroundings.

 _“Ay, ven aqui_ ” he said, nodding his head towards the curtains behind the small couch, “I wanna show you my favorite part of this place” he grinned, reaching out with his foot to slide open the curtains she didn’t realize was there.

“Something you conveniently left out in the tour?”

“To be fair the tour was more like ‘which room is mine’ and ‘where is the bathroom’ “

Intent on not putting down his box of rice, he slid the glass door open with his shoulder and walked out with Amelie close behind.

Their apartment was three floors up, with a small balcony just big enough to fit two chairs and a small table. Blocked in by the very building they lived in, in such a way it felt like their own personal alcove.

It wasn’t much of a view, they were facing a not so busy street with nothing but more apartments and small shops across the way. But it was secluded and perfect.

“Nice” she smiled, flopping into a seat beside him.

The two sat quietly.

Watching two or three cars pass, maybe a couple of people wandering along the sidewalk, otherwise it was uneventful. Peaceful and quiet.

“Thank you Gabe” she says gently, relaxing into the chair, favorite noodles in hand, the soft ambiance of the outskirts of the city and next to the one person in her life she could call her best friend. 

“I look out for my own Ame”

She hummed; content.

“Would now be a good time to ask about getting a pet spider?”

“A what now-” but he stopped himself, something catching his eye that brought his words to a standstill, he even put his rice box down.

“Ay, check this little homie out” he grinned, pushing himself from his seat to lean over the edge of the balcony.

He whistled,”AY! SPEEDY!”

Her curiosity officially peaked, she put aside her food and stood up.

Across the street was one lone jogger, a bright yellow hoodie pulled up over her head who immediately stopped upon being called upon.

Her face lit up at the sight of the loud Hispanic man shouting at her, tugging her ear phones out and pulling her hoodie down, beaming with a smile that could be seen for miles.

“Gabby!” she grinned, waving obnoxiously.

He cupped a hand over his mouth as he called out, “You forgot again didn’t you?”

Her face dropped, hands scrambling around her body in search for something that was clearly not there.

“Aw bollocks….I swear I’m not trying to make a habit out of this!”

Amelie leaned her chin against her fist, watching as this clockwork like routine began before her eyes. The jogger huffed, crossing the street as Gabriel stepped away from the railing.

“This is my little shit” he laughed, pulling out a water bottle from an ice chest stashed away in the corner, it was mostly packed with at least half a dozen water bottles and beer,” She runs by here three or four times a day around the block, doesn’t stop I’m pretty sure she’s actually a machine or somethin’ ”

Amelie gasped dramatically,”I thought I was the only girl in your life Gabe”

“Shut up…” he huffed, shoving an ice cold beer in her grasp before leaning over the edge where his little english jogger stood, looking embarrassed for forgetting her water bottle again,”Heads up!”

“Thanks luv!” she grinned, catching the bottled water only to pause for a moment, inspecting it before erupting into laughter,”Aww it’s even unopened this time”

Amelie chuckled,”Getting soft now are we?”

“Hey I don’t feel like filling out a witness report if she falls over and dies” he grumbled, taking a long swig of beer, ignoring Amelie’s judging eyes and smug grin.

“Oy Gabe, you wanna explain to me who you got six feet under for a catch like that?” She pointed to Amelie with the water bottle now half gone.

“You’ll never find the body. This is my new roomie, Amelie”

“Enchante” she smiled politely, waving down at the girl whose eyes grew wide at the sound of her accent, which then slowly grew into a coy little smile.

“Lena Oxton! Also I’m terribly sorry you have to put up with him”

Amelie shrugged, “Someone has to”

“I’m right here”

“Where’s Jesse?”

“With his boy toy now” he huffed, taking another long drink as the two girls exchanged small glances. That invisible link that expressed they were thinking the same thing.

“Someone sounds jealous” even from three floors up, her eyebrow wiggle was clearly visible.

“Quite”

“Well the both of you can kiss my ass” he grumbled,”Hey don’t you have…I don’t know somewhere to be? Run into traffic or something”

“I still got a couple laps left in me mate! I’ll see you two around”

Gabriel was already back in his seat, waving the girl off like an annoying pest.

Pulling her hoodie back over her unruly brown spikes, she flipped through her phone, selecting a new song to run to, but before taking off she looked up at the french woman and smiled, “Nice meeting you miss Amelie”

“Likewise Lena” she purred, winking at the girl, watching in amusement as a gentle blush crept along her cheeks.

And like that she was well on her way, back to running and disappeared out of sight.

The silence of urban life continued on; with a huff Amelie returned to her seat and noodles.

“So about that pet spider…”

 

* * *

 

 _“Un deux trois. Un deux trois. Un deux trois._ Straighten up ladies. _Un deux trois”_

Amelie was given the task to open a new ballet studio in downtown, a new branch from her previous studio but this time she was given the keys and trusted to teach on her own. She already had a full class of determined dancers, she was quick to weed out the weak ones less than an hour into the lesson. Her narrow eyes and strong voice was force of nature and she loved every look of fear or determination from her students.

“Very good, break for ten”

Her soldier like young women collectively let out a long sigh of relief, grace and posture gone as they retreated to the water cooler or flop over on the cool wooden floor in exhaustion. Madame Lacroix took this moment to herself, tightening the bun atop her head, examining and ensuring her fierce appearance in the wall length mirror. Just as she was contemplating when would be the appropriate time to get a cane to look even more intimidating when a blip of yellow caught her eye in her reflection from outside the window.

“There she goes again”

“Watching her go makes me exhausted”

Sure enough, she turned around to spot that familiar yellow hoodie, doing her usual run across the street.

“Is she always like that?”

“Yes Madame, always running. But no one really knows why, she just does”

Lena made it to the corner, stopping beside the stop light, waiting for it to turn red and make it safely across. She jogged in place for a moment, checking her watch and pulse, the moment she was allowed she took off like a shot out of the view of the window.

“Odd girl” she shrugged, before clapping her hands, demanding the attention of her students. Although it was very clearly less than ten minutes worth of a break but no one dared to question her.

At some point a blur of yellow passed by the window, seconds later it returned, much slower this time.

The girls too engrossed in a quick routine their fearless instructor choreographed for them they didn’t notice the Madame had stepped away to greet the gawking jogger through the window via a small wave.

Lena beamed in excitement, miming her feelings by pointing to Amelie then bringing her hand up, well over her own head and mouthed the words.

_Blimey you’re tall!_

Amelie smiled, of course, they had met when she was three floors up in her balcony, and here on level ground, she pointed at Lena and brought her hand low, mouthing back.

_And you’re tiny…_

A short distressed yelp brought her back to her work, she whipped around and found one of the girls on the ground, not at all injured just a small slip but she looked up at the Madame with the fear of God in her eyes.

Lena had to cover her mouth from laughing as Amelie calmly smiled,” _Au avoir_ ” she mouthed, before turning on her heel, hands behind her back and slowly returned to her students with an aura of destruction in her wake.

The girls watched as the jogger grinned, bringing a finger up and brushing it across her neck at them before running off.

 

* * *

 

“ _Hijo_ Ame…you weren’t fucking around were you?”

Amelie returned to her new home from her new job with a pet tarantula. Gabriel had to do a double take as he passed by her room, finding her lounging on her bed with a beautiful black tarantula just barely larger than her palm in her grasp, it made no movement or intention of doing so. It remained in her hand, utterly relaxed as she sat back and admired it with a soft smile gracing her lips.

She glanced over it’s furry body and smiled gently,”Always wanted one, Gerard hates them”

No more was needed to be said. Gabriel welcomed the new pet into his home without question. 

“Come on, I know you want to pet it…” she teased.  

Gabriel is a muscular Hispanic man that most people on the streets purposely walked past, slowed or just plain avoided due to his resting ‘I may or may not kill you whenever I feel like it’ face. That being said he held in a brief moment of fear of the eight legged creature and took confident strides into her room with a nonchalant shrug.

She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and allowed him to side beside her as she brought the spider forward. She didn’t miss that short moment of hesitation in his fingers before he gently brushed the back end with the back of his finger. He immediately pulled back as the spider began to crawl away in surprise. Amelie chuckled, bringing her other hand up to let it crawl along as Gabriel shuffled, embarrassed but she made no snark comment, for now. He shrugged, mumbling something under his breath about his roommate possibly being a witch while adjusting himself, making sure no one else saw.

“So…what did you name it? Better be something cool Ame, I will judge”

Amelie paused a moment, staring at the furry animal in her palm that seemed to stare back expectantly. After giving it some thought, she nodded, lifting her hand up as if to address the tarantula properly.

“… _Cauchemar_ ” she said finally, of course the spider didn’t do much but blink at her. Which is also what Gabriel did.

“It means Nightmare”

Gabriel stared at the tarantula, digesting the new name until a small smile formed on his face.

“I love it”

 

* * *

 

They celebrated a week of living together without killing each other by visiting a local bar. It belonged to a ridiculously large Russian woman named Zarya who knew everyone in town and had Gabe’s drink ready the moment he walked in.

“Taquila…are you serious”

“Don’t be racist Ame” he laughed, taking the lime wedge in his mouth.

She rolled her eyes, taking a quick sip of her drink while her gaze scanned the crowd. It wasn’t too busy, a little too loud of her taste but it was good alcohol for the price and distance. Soon a large group of people entered, immediately greeted by the owner by yelling, bear hugs and pints of beers all around. She felt a headache coming on already.

“Oh look it’s Jesse” she commented, nodding towards the booth on the far opposite side of the room. That ridiculous cowboy hat was hard to miss, also the empty shot glasses, and despite being so far away she was pretty sure she could hear the loud lip smacking of Jesse and his new boyfriend as they drunkenly made out.

“Alright just so we are clear, Jesse is clearly the boy toy in this relationship” she snickered behind her glass,”Just look at all that grey in his hair…”

Her snide comments were cut short as Gabe nearly choked on the wedge.

“Oh….Fuck….we should go”

Following his panicked eyes to the large group of obnoxious friends, even Amelie had to freeze in place upon realizing a familiar patch of bright blonde hair and stupid smoldering smile. It had been a long while since she had last seen Jack herself but in all honesty with looks like that, Gabe never stood a chance.

“…really? Now?” she huffed.

“Look I’m not ready to see him again ok?” his voice softened, turning in his seat to ensure the chance of Jack not noticing he was there.

She didn’t question it further, in unison they shot down the last of their drinks and slipped away. Gabe took off the moment his feet hit the floor, power walking with extra panic and anger in his face most people moved out of the way on sight. Most people.

Amelie had trouble catching up after closing up the tab until he nearly bumped into someone, immediately bringing himself to a halt. She couldn’t tell who it was at first, being that they were so small.

“Off on in rush eh? Must mean Jack is nearby”

Lena grinned, not at all fazed by his sneer.

“Speedy, I couldn’t recognize you without that ugly hoodie”

“I have other clothes, shocking I know”

“Yes yes good to know now if you don’t mind….” he grumbled, continuing on his way, not bothering who he rammed into on the way out.

Amelie sighed, gently rubbing her temples as he went, brooding, jamming his hands in his pockets and began to walk home.

“He’ll come around, they don’t stay broken up for long”

“I hope so” she sighed, shaking her head but still finding a smile for the short brit,” So you don’t only have one speed setting”

A fierce blush crept along her cheeks though she laughed it off like it wasn’t a big deal, Amelie knew better,”Aw you know, gotta take a break every once and awhile or uh…something…” she coughed.

Perhaps leaving her hair down for tonight was a bad idea, the poor girl couldn’t seem to form a straight sentence.  

“I uh….look I was wondering…”

Before she could finish, the loud (and now partially drunk) friend group hording the bar realized who had arrived and gasped loudly in unison.

“LENAAAAA!!!!”

The girl visibly flinched as all of them screamed.

“You’re quite popular”

“Something like that I guess…”

The crowd continued to call out to her; Lena bit her lip awkwardly waving at them to wait but their drunken stupor didn’t leave much for common courtesy. No matter how badly she wanted to stay.  

“We can talk another time, you’re presence is requested”

She sighed, nodding sadly, “…see you around then?”  
  
“You know where to find me” Amelie winked and was on her way, a knowing smile gracing her lips as Lena remained standing there, knowing she was watching her go.

It had been a long while since she had been single, it felt nice to leave such an impression on someone new.

But just before she was out of earshot, she could barely catch a curious conversation.

The voices that had called out to the girl in such excitement suddenly switched their tone, low and full of worry as they asked,“Lena why are you here?! The doctor said-”

But she just laughed, taking shot before they could stop her, “For the last time mates, I’m fine I promise!”


	2. The Balcony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are never what they appear to be.  
> And Amelie was not ready for this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sheeesh this was suppose to be a simple one shot what the heck happened here

Amelie finds out later she works at a local coffee shop, again, more running around, the girl never stopped. She thrived when it was busy, the chaos running on adrenaline at all times. Amelie happened to be there when she witnessed the girl change out of her uniform and straight into her jogging apparel, beginning her usual routine of running around the neighborhood several times before the sun went down. **  
**

The days went on and she found herself also falling into a routine.

Seeing that usual bright yellow hoodie whiz by the studio window while she worked, then the yellow blur of a human being would backpedal, making sure it was safe to not disrupt the class to say hi, then be on her way. Soon Amelie would time her, purposely taking a short break around the time she would appear.

Although they never spoke directly in days, they still communicated. Either through the window miming a greeting, waving as she passed by the balcony as the roommates shared a smoke break, or her personal favorite, having her usual coffee order ready and waiting before she even reached the cashier.

“It’s an easy order” she shrugged,” Not surprised in the slightest you like it black as the pits”  

“ _Merci_ Lena” she purred, casually taking a seat, possibly enjoying that blush return a little too much.

At one instance she winked, the poor barista had to step into the kitchen for a breather.

“I hope you’re not giving her the run around”’

Of course ten seconds after this statement left his mouth, the two spent a moment laughing at the subtle joke.

“Ok for real, don’t be playing with Speedy’s _corazon_ ” she didn’t need to ask what that meant as he put a fist to his chest,”She’s fragile, _si_?”

She thought she knew what he meant at the time.

 

* * *

 

Amelie returned home one evening to be immediately greeted, “My favorite roommate welcome home _mi amiga!_ ”

She froze in the doorway, staring at the man who was practically beaming and looked a lot like her roommate, “Oh this should be good”

“I have a surprise for you!”

Slowly closing the door behind her and hanging her coat now drenching from the spontaneous summer rain, she kept a close eye on him as he strode into the kitchen with a little hop in his step.

“….did you murder someone? If you need help hiding a body I only take cash”

He scoffed, “Please, I can dispose a body on my own”

Ah, there he was. Good to know it wasn’t a complete case of the body snatchers but still she was suspicious of his behavior. Bag of work clothes and shoes kicked aside, she reached the counter of the kitchen just as he placed a large bag in front of her.

Amelie’s eyebrows shot upwards as he quickly pulled each item out.

Her favorite chinese take out, noodles, rice and kung pow still warm, and a brand new bluetooth speaker.

She paused a moment, staring at him and his cheeky grin.

“….Gabe did you get laid?”

The smile on his face was devilish,”Not yet”

And it all clicked into place,”Are…you kicking me out so you can sleep with your sort of on off boyfriend?!”

“Look just, hang out on the balcony! It’s not that cold right?”

“It’s raining, Gabriel”

“Look it doesn’t get that wet out there because of the balcony above us, look just trust me it’s really nice out”

“Are you fucking kidding me”

“Ame I won’t ask you for a single thing for the rest of my life but just let me pound this white boy until he’s screaming ‘ay papi’ at least three times, Ame PLEASE”

She felt a headache coming on, rubbing her temples as she shook her head, “Details I did not need…No Gabe, I just got home and I’m tired and I just want-”

With a huff, he reached into the bag and pulled out a bottle of white wine, she recognized the label immediately as expensive, imported and amazing. She quickly scooped up her gifts in her arms and made a beeline for the balcony.   
  


“Do you have enough condoms?”

 

* * *

 

In the end, he wasn’t wrong.

The balcony above them was more than enough to shield any water from coming into her private hiding hole. Creating a curtain of water and a lovely view of the rain coming down. The air was warm, it was still nearing the end of summer in downtown, there was no need to bundle up at all. Sweatpants and loose sweater was more than enough. Amele lounged in her seat, fried rice and music playing. She almost forgot why she was out there in the first place, which she preferred.

Feeling particularly lazy today, she tossed aside the empty boxes of take out, intending on picking up after herself at a later time and sat up to reach for the wine until that familiar shade of yellow caught her eye again.

“…even in this?” she found herself saying, immediately pushing herself out of her seat to stand, ready to call out and scold the crazy girl, but before she had a chance to open her mouth, she was gone. Running across the sidewalk head down against the rain. Her face blocked by her hoodie now drenched but most likely focused and determined to keep to her routine hail or high water.

“Hm, wish I had that kind of drive” she hummed to herself, relaxing against the rail for a moment.

The rain continued on, a gentle warm breeze would brush against her loose strands of hair against her face, light classical music playing on the speakers but these things did little to block the high pitched cry of pleasure from inside.

She shuddered, raising the volume on the speaker and went for the bottle of wine, hoping the buzz would block out her roommate’s activities but just as the cork was popped, a blur of yellow from the corner of her eye caught her attention.

In record time Lena was back again.

Even from across the street and up several floors Amelie could hear her hard footsteps and heavy breathing. Sprinting at the same pace as the last time and as such she was soon out of sight.

And this repeated several times.

Wine glass in hand, Amelie stood against the rail, watching the girl run olympic sprints around the block, taking a sip every time she would pass by and enjoy the rain in between.

This was amusing around the fourth drink until a visible red blotch on her knee caught her eye, she must have taken a nasty spill somewhere out of sight that slowed her down quite a bit but she continued on.

By the sixth time Lena was heaving, grunting and pushing herself to continue despite the blood she chose to ignore and remain ignorant to it trickling down her leg.

The seventh lap Amelie began to worry, as it took nearly twice as long to make it back around to where she could see the jogger. By the time she spotted the yellow hoodie Lena was limping into a short jog, throwing herself into an alleyway and colliding into the wall, clinging to the brick as she heaved and began to shake.

Amelie could only watch as the girl doubled over and threw up violently alone in an alleyway as the rain pelted against her back.

“Oh for God’s sake…” she sighed, putting her wine down on the small table, to make her way to the small ice chest. They had recently bought a new case of two dozen water bottles, both had been too lazy to tear open and put into the chest but for this moment it worked out for the better. Ripping the thick plastic apart, she pulled a lukewarm bottle out and brought two fingers to her lips.

Lena coughed, spitting out the bitter acid from her lips as she whined pathetically, leaning her head against the wet brick, she clutched her chest, desperate to catch her breath when a high pitched whistle cut through the sound of the rain around her.

Her eyes widened in horror, realizing too late of where she was and that someone had been watching her. And of course it wasn’t just anyone, it was Amelie, standing tall in her balcony with a water bottle in her grasp.

“Come here you dumbass!”, she screamed, waving the bottle, motioning her to come closer.

Despite wanting nothing more than to run into oncoming traffic, and unfortunately there wasn’t many cars out right now in the first place, Lena made her way across the street, limping slightly and hissing at every motion of her left knee suddenly now becoming more apparent.

She stood before the balcony with her hands up, ready to catch the offering but this time she was denied as Amelie shook her head.

“What are you doing? What are you running so hard for?”

Lena remained silent, holding a hand above her eyes as she struggled to look up at the woman without getting rain in her face. But she could see clear as day those brows furrowing in thought before she asked a different question.

“What do you run from?”

At this, Lena laughed and replied back.

“Death”

 

On the left side of the apartment balcony was a ladder, meant for emergencies, just seven feet up however was a small cage, blocking anyone from just strolling up and hopping into anyone’s apartment. But Gabriel had removed the lock and no one bothered to tell the landlord or squeal out of fear of the angry hispanic man. The two would use it in emergencies, those being late for work or avoiding someone.

That being said, Amelie motioned towards the ladder.

“You got ten seconds to come up here and explain yourself before I go down there and kill you myself”

This girl never ceased to surprise her, Lena’s eyes lit up and she nearly jumped an entire floor worth of ladder to make her way up despite just throwing up and tearing her knee.

From the ladder to the balcony was about a full leg’s reach and although excited to be invited up for the first time, Lena had used her wounded leg to step out and support herself on the balcony ledge. She nearly slipped right off had Amelie not grabbed a fistful of her jacket and yanked her in. Catching her as she collapsed in her arms, breathing heavily and limping on her other leg.

“Ow ow ok that was dumb ow “ she hissed, clinging to Amelie’s arms.

“I won’t humor that with an answer, sit down”

With gentle guidance, Lena plopped into a seat, hissing in pain she leaned over and clutched her leg, inspecting the damage, she forced out a shaky laugh.

“Wow I really did myself in this time” she coughed, offering a weak smile.

“This needs to go”

Lena froze, staring up at the woman that grabbed the hem of her jacket. Her cheeks burned but she complied, lifting her arms as the hoodie was peeled up and off, now three times heavier due to water weight it promptly splat on the floor as she tossed it aside.

She let out a long sigh of relief, which was cut short by a towel being thrown at her face.

“You’re an idiot”

“I know…”

Tugging the towel from her head she found the taunting water bottle being offered to her, held by an angry but worried Amelie.

Without another word, she took a long swig of water, relaxing for the first time in hours, leaning back until the entire thing was gone.

That’s when she saw it.

Lena’s tank top was soaked and sagged, sticking against her skin with the added weight of water, and as she leaned back to consume the bottle of water like it were the last on earth Amelie caught sight of a long grotesque scar in between her breasts, right above her heart.

“You say you’re running from Death? It looks like you’ve done that once before”

She let out a satisfied sigh as she finished, wiping her mouth and freezing in the middle of the motion, realizing where Amelie’s eyes were. Out of habit she lifted her top to cover it, not that it did any good.

“Lena?”

“Sorry I just…” she sighed, feeling her weak heart beat against her closed fist,”…I nearly lost that time”

 

Lena was in the military, or training to be, she was well on her way to be a pilot when a sudden heart attack hit her during an exercise. She was eighteen.

Her dreams of flying for her country ended upon discovering she had heart disease. It took several surgeries, and a recent replacement but she was back on her feet and refused to be handicapped.

“Running is free exercise, it’s supposed to make my heart stronger so…I just never stopped. Hoping that maybe…it’s stupid but maybe I’d magically get better if I kept going”

“And today?”

She paused, silently watching Amelie her wrap her knee in clean white bandages, taking care of her as she told her story, “…I’m not getting better…”

At this, Amelie stopped.

“I just…got a little frustrated and kept running…It’s stupid-”

“Very stupid” she cut in, continuing her work before ripping off the end and tucking it. Lena stretched and bent her knee, admiring the fast handiwork.

“…Thank you Amelie, you didn’t have to do this you know”

“Well very much like Gabe, I too would rather not file a witness report or take a trip in an ambulance anytime soon” she shrugged, putting aside the first aid kit to take a seat finally.

Running inside to grab the kit was an amusing one, she offered no warning ahead of time as she opened the balcony door and stepped inside to retrieve it, ignoring the noises from Gabriel’s room. Lena was bright red when she returned partially embarrassed but mostly from laughing so hard.

“So how long have you been out here?”

She shrugged, reaching over to grab another water bottle before offering it, “An hour or so, give or take. I’m going to give them another hour”

“Hm…I don’t know…that’s a lot of built up sexual tension. I’ll say two hours at most”

“Well, I guess we won’t know unless you stick around”

She paused, now mostly dry, hydrated and no longer bleeding she felt a sudden wave of guilty realization wash over her, “I’ve already overstayed my welcome”

Amelie shrugged, swiping a half glass of wine, twirling it in her grasp in thought, “You’re injured so good luck getting down, also I got an angry text from Gabe telling us to quiet down so I don’t think you’re allowed inside just yet. So, most unfortunately, you’re stuck up here with me and this wine I intend on finishing”

Resting her elbow on the arm of the chair, Lena leaned against her fist, watching the woman offer the glass to her. She felt her heart pound in her chest but this time not painfully, so with a bright smile she took the glass.

“…well isn’t that a shame”

 

* * *

 

Two hours later Amelie received a text indicating it was safe to go inside but intent on finishing the wine, the two remained outside for another twenty minutes. Quietly watching the last of the rain slow into a content drizzle, partially under the influence of wine but mostly to seem fair, Amelie told the girl a story.

A story about a young exchange student from France and an outcasted hispanic teen. How they met via forced partnership for an assignment and became inseparable. Constantly misunderstood and stereotyped the two became fast friends, keeping to themselves and glaring at all who whispered or passed by. But such as life, these things don’t last. Upon graduating she was flown back to France to pursue her dream, they didn’t write or call much, they didn’t need to. She returned years later with a fiance on her arm and a ring on her finger.

“Please tell me Gabe was going to be the Maid of Honor”

She laughed, Lena couldn’t help a small sigh, staring at her lips curl upwards in a beautiful smile.

“Oh I wanted it but unfortunately it didn’t get that far”

The moment Amelie landed back in the states she found Gabe and the two reunited as if no time had passed. His mother invited her over to congratulate her, they caught up on life over hand made tortillas that nearly made her cry they were so good. But as they sat outside, contemplating life over cheap beer, things were not quite as perfect as they appeared to be.

Her fiance was a wonderful man, they moved into a beautiful place in the hills of Los Angeles closer to his work and everything seemed well and ready to start a family. But soon their ideals began to clash, he hated the idea of her running her own business, being out on her own or having a male best friend. He wanted a family and her to stay home, he had good intentions, he made enough to support both of them. She could have lived on without working a day in her life but that’s not what she wanted. She actually didn’t want any of it.

Her parents loved him, more than willing and ready to pay for a beautiful extravagant wedding.

But Amelie sat there next to her best friend, staring at the ring on her finger, listening to the words she didn’t realize she needed the most.

Why do you look so unhappy Ame?

She returned home that night with the ring in her hand, Gerard red in the face for her not answering his texts or phone calls, lashing out with ridiculous accusations and demands. She said nothing but silently put the ring on the table and walked away.

“So…are you happy now?”

Amelie downed the last of the wine, staring at the empty glass for a moment with a smile.

“I suppose it could be worse”


	3. Heartbeat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You make my heart go-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had every intention of this idea being a one shot. Well look how that turned out for me. I cannot thank you all enough for your lovely messages and comments! They keep me going every day! Thank you for reading and I'll see you all for the next adventure I have planned for us.

Gabriel awoke the next day, prying himself out of Jack’s arms with cereal in mind. Slipping on jeans that were hanging off his dresser, he left his room obnoxiously yawning as he went only to freeze in the middle of the living area.

Amelie was found in the kitchen, chatting away while making her legendary omelettes, which were strictly reserved for special occasions or a particularly crappy day. Today however, she was making them for a guest, currently sitting on the couch, arms draping over the back watching her cook. If it weren’t for the crazy brown bed head he wouldn’t have been able to recognize the tiny brit. 

“Speedy?”

She spun around, he immediately recognized the large shirt and shorts as Amelie’s,“ Mornin’ Gabe! Jack still in there? I didn’t hear em sneak away so that’s a good sign right?” 

Unable to answer, he just stared at the girl dumbfounded, switching between her stupid grin and Amelie’s shrug.

She refused to let Lena walk home alone, injured, wet clothes, and after midnight. It took minor scolding but she managed to get the stubborn girl into a shower and into borrowed pjs to occupy the couch for the night. 

“The hell...are….you two dating now?” 

“....no but…” Lena turned back around, folding her arms over the top of the couch she asked, “Do you want to?” 

Amelie stopped for a moment, thinking about it for a grand total of ten seconds before shrugging, “Sure” 

Though Gabe spotted that small smile from a mile away, Lena turned back around with her eyes lit like a Christmas tree. 

“Kay we are now, thanks luv!” 

His desire for cereal could wait, it was too early for this. He turned on his heel and walked away, “I’m going back to bed, there’s too much gay happening in this place. God”

 

* * *

 

 

Lena called out of work, on the grounds of an injured knee and pain in her chest that was a little too close for comfort. She wasn’t lying, despite putting the phone down and resumed devouring the greatest omelette to ever grace her taste buds ever. 

“Is it wrong to marry someone for their food? I feel like it is but also understandable?” 

“ _ Non _ , I would marry myself for this if I could” 

Eventually a sleepy blonde walked out of Gabe’s room, yawning and pulling a shirt over his head as he went. 

“Hi Jack!”

He froze, slowly popping his head out and confirmed his confusion. 

“ _ Bonjour _ ” 

He stood in the door frame dumbfounded, looking to Gabriel for answers but he just grunted in response,waving them all off as he shuffled to the kitchen now that it was unoccupied. 

The two girls were found on the couch. Lena’s legs draped over Amelie’s lap with a plate of eggs, cheese, peppers together in a beautiful combination in her hands. He’s never seen her smile so big before. 

Amelie kept to her coffee, relaxed and content, paying no mind to her hand resting on her bandaged leg, stroking her knee absent mindedly as they watched the morning news. 

“Are...you two…?” he hesitantly brought a finger up, pointing to the two interchangeably. 

She didn’t even bother to look up at him, “ _ Oui _ ” 

“Since...when?” 

She glanced down at her phone for a moment.

“About thirty minutes” 

“Happy thirty minutes luv!” Lena giggled, leaning in to place a quick kiss on her cheek. Amelie hummed, a small smile gracing her lips before she hid it behind a warm mug of coffee.

Jack’s face fell,” Thirty minutes in and she made you eggs?” 

“Best first date ever” 

He suddenly fell silent, watching the two girls cuddle, Amelie opening her mouth as Lena offered a slice of green pepper. 

Meanwhile, Gabe let out a loud burp in the kitchen in between guzzling down a milk carton, while scratching his behind. 

“That’s gross mate” 

“Why I have my own” 

“You’re so smart luv”

“I know” 

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, placing the empty carton back in the fridge. But pausing as he closed it shut, realizing he was being stared at by a big pair of blue puppy eyes. 

“What?” 

Jack sighed, turning on his heel to return to the bedroom with his shoulders sagging,” Nothing...” 

Gabe’s face immediately dropped,” Oh my God Jack no don’t do this already” 

And so the girls silently watched as the men began to bicker. 

“Please don’t ever get like that” she mumbled, her thumbs gently running across the thick textured bandage over her knee. 

“I make no promises” she laughed in between bites. 

“That’s fair” 

Finishing her plate and setting it aside on the small table beside the couch Lena curled into Amelie’s side, nuzzling against her shoulder watching Jack pick up his things and stomp away with Gabe close behind. 

“If I have to explain it then it’s not worth it!”

“Jack c’mon are you serious?! Talk to me!” 

With Gabe hot on his heels, the two men left the apartment completely, their voices continuing on and fading the further away they went. They had no idea where they were going, if they had originally planned on going somewhere in the first place but they were gone and Amelie let out a long sigh of relief. 

“Ugh finally” she groaned, throwing her head back to kill the rest of her coffee in one go. 

“U-uh...so we’re alone...now so...do you think maybe we could…” 

Empty mug aside, she slipped an arm around her waist while her free hand gently cupped the side of her face, pulling her in for a long awaited kiss. Lena squeaked in surprise at first, before completely melting into her arms. 

“Oh...wow” she purred, just barely above a whisper as they parted as if her breath were taken away in that moment. Amelie smiled, her thumb gently tracing her jawline as her smile grew with each passing moment, “I really hope you don’t plan on leaving anytime soon”

Clutching the old plush couch, Amelie pulled herself forward, taking Lena with her and pushing her to lie back. With a coy smile, she whispered so close her lips brushed against the tip of her ear with every word. 

“I’m not doing anything today...maybe you perhaps?” 

Lena froze, red spreading across her cheeks as she laughed, clutching her stomach as she giggled. 

“I...cannot believe you just said that” 

“Is that an objection?”

Lena huffed, reaching up to brush her long strands away from her beautiful face, tucking it behind her ear,  “Oh my god kiss me already jeez”

She couldn’t remember if she ever smiled so hard while kissing someone. 

It was awkward, messy and sloppy, they kept missing, teeth colliding but her little giggles and gentle nudges with her nose were too much to pass up. 

But at some point some kind of rhythm was formed, her lip’s found Lena’s neck and was intent on not leaving until she was bruised for the world to see. She sighed, falling limp and mewled underneath her, completely surrendering to the motions as cold hands slipped under her small shirt. 

Though the intention was to make the girl squirm, Amelie stopped. Her hand resting in between her breasts, where different texture was felt beneath her fingertips. 

“Lena…” she mumbled, lifting herself above her just enough to catch her attention. It took a moment to break out of the haze but she stared up at the woman in confusion. 

“What is it?”

“Is this going to be a recurring thing?” 

Her heart beat wildly in her chest, she could feel it. Hammering against her hand, it could be a completely normal thing yet somehow being aware of the origins of her scar made her paranoid. 

“You going into cardiac arrest every time we’re together?”

She grinned, “Worth it” 

“Lena I’m serious” 

With a soft smile, she reached into her shirt and gently grasped her hand, pulling it away and towards her lips to place a soft kiss to her knuckles,“I’m not made of glass luv, I’ll be fine. I won’t be running for awhile but it’s still beating and, honestly?” 

She was nearly blinded by her bright smile that nuzzled against her hand.    
  


“I feel better already”

 

* * *

As it turned out, they were going to go out.    
  
To make up for the complete lack of consideration after having a night of passionate “making up”, Gabriel decided to take Jack out to a nice breakfast place not too far out of town, worth the drive. At least it would be if he had remembered to bring the keys in the first place, but to be fair they were amidst a bickering war before deciding on this in the first place. 

Sprinting up the stairs he returned to the apartment, announcing himself as he entered, “Forgot my keys” 

“Good for you, please leave”

He would have turned right on his heel and left had a shirt not flown across the room and nearly hit him. 

He had left for no more than ten minutes and Amelie was without a top and limbs entangled with the girl beneath her. Not that he could tell, facing the back of the couch and could only hear the sound of soft sighs and giggling coming from the other side. 

“Don’t you have work today?” 

All movement and noises had stopped. 

“....Fuck” she groaned, followed by Lena’s soft whines. 

“Gabby...Why…”

But he laughed, spinning the keys around his finger as he went, “Sorry  _ amigas _ , next time, but rent is due soon and that’s where I draw the line for being a wingman” 

He blew a quick kiss as a hand shot up, flipping him off as a parting gift before he left.

 

* * *

 

Reluctantly they did manage to detangle themselves from each other, clothes and work bag collected the two left the apartment, hand in hand and walked to the ballet studio. 

She asked several times but Lena assured her she was fine despite just the slightest limp in her walk. 

Upon reaching the front door, they shared a quick kiss before parting ways. Having no idea that the students inside had seen, and were now begrudgingly handing over money to each other, they had been taking bets on this very moment and it was time to cash in. 

Lena sent a text when she got home, and sent another one with a photo of herself, in bed with ice over her knee to prove it. Amelie did her best to hide her smile behind a water bottle, but was quick to shoot a quick dagger like glare at her students who giggled. They spent the remainder of the day doing exercises until their muscles screamed. 

 

* * *

 

 

“It’s just...you and Amelie? Never saw that coming”

“That’s the tall scary looking girl that hangs out with Gabe?”

“Sorry Lena but...she really looks….uh”

“Resting bitch game real strong” 

A week in and Lena found herself at Zarya’s bar, being hounded with questions and comments by her friends, “Uh thanks guys?”

Nursing a basic jack and coke her ears burned as they congratulated her, regardless of how they felt about the terrifying woman they all at least could agree that she was quite the catch. That being said some with a little too much alcohol in their system asked some interesting questions. 

But as she hid her face in embarrassment, an arm was thrown around her shoulders, with a very drunk Lucio draping off her body. 

“Nah man….screw these guys, I’m….just...so happy for you you know?” 

Lena quickly grabbed the drunken man by the shorts before he fell, pushing him against the counter to hold himself up as he laughed. He was her favorite drunk, if he wasn’t already a beaming ray of positivity somehow alcohol made it better. 

“Like….like that’s what you need you know? Like you need love man, it’s good, for your heart. You know?” he swayed as he spoke, a slur at the end of every word and a big smile on his face as he poked her in the chest. 

The blush spread to her cheeks, burning as she found herself unable to stop smiling at the drunken yet very thoughtful comment. Granted seconds later, Lucio promptly fell fast first against the counter, snoring softly as he fell unconscious standing up. 

 

“I couldn’t agree more”

 

* * *

 

“Well there goes the black guy”

“That was faster than usual”  
  
"Brutal too" 

“Who is up next?”

“That home boy is the next shade darkest so he’s up next, poor bastard”   
  
While flipping through Netflix, the two roomies discovered an old horror flick that they had not seen since their high school days, without another word popcorn was made and the comfiest clothes were thrown on to recreate an old tradition. Classic Horror movie night. 

“God this is terrible, did we actually enjoy these as kids or ironically?” 

“Probably both?” she shrugged, readjusting her head that lay on his lap before shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth. Any pieces she happened to miss were picked up by Gabriel before she could get to them. 

Lena was due to be off in an hour, though having no plans to hang out today, Lena loved to text and send pictures every so often. It was preferred over calling, thus when her phone buzzed more than once, the two stared at the vibrating phone, shaking the table violently and nearly falling off had she not reached for it in time. 

“Speedy? She ok?” 

Of course they both shared the same thought, thinking the reason for calling would be an emergency but the name on the screen was the last one she could have been expecting.  

 

**Gerard**

 

She froze like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck. 

“...Ame do you want me to-” 

She didn’t reply, tossing the blanket aside and answered the phone and spoke quickly. 

_ “ _ _ Qu'est-ce que tu veux.” _

Gabriel paused the movie, of course he wished he could listen in had she not been speaking completely in french. She slipped away into her room, gently shutting the door behind her before letting loose a long string of french curses, that much he knew. 

_ “Tu as fais quoi?!” _   
  


Gabriel silently picked up his phone and sent out a quick text. 

_ "J'y crois pas... t'essérieux, là ?" _   
  


__ "Je ne me sers pas d'elle comme d'un rebond!"   
  


_ "Non, tu sais quoi, c'est fini, je ne veux plus jamais entendre parler de toi." _

 

Then there was silence, a muffled frustrated sigh was heard on the other side before the door finally opened. 

“You…” she started, a pathetic laugh covered in betrayal and venom to hide the sting behind her eyes,”...are not going to believe this one” 

Gabriel shifted over in his seat, giving her his full attention, “Oh I am ready” 

“I guess...Lena posted a photo of us on her facebook, tagged me and I guess Gerard saw it” 

 

His thick brows furrowed in thought,”...I thought that fool didn’t use social media? Something about the downfall of society?”

“Funny, that’s what I said” she started to pace, that’s how he knew it was bad. Unable to decide what to do with her body but walk back and forth with her arms waving at every inflection of her voice. 

“He accused me of going through a phase, calling Lena a rebound. I can’t...even believe this, he never liked that part of me in the first place but to actually call me and say how things were better for me when we were together? Are you kidding me? I’ve never been happier! NEVER.”

“Want me to-”

She immediately stopped, pointing at him to keep him seat as he uncrossed his legs to stand. 

“ _ Non _ ” 

“No one will find out and he’ll just be crippled for awhile” 

She sighed, rolling her eyes into the sun. She knew he meant well but it did little to stop her pacing from starting up again. Mumbling to herself, validating herself before second guessing sunk in. She was not in the wrong, she could think for herself and not let others decide her fate. Though it felt like she was under someone else’s control her whole life, most of her biggest decisions were made for her without her realizing it. Letting her parents and fiance’s words guide her with ‘what’s best for you’, good intentions but they were not her own. Now not even her parents spoke to her. 

“Amelie, c’mon talk to me. What do you need” 

The one thing she decided for herself. 

She finally stopped, not realizing her crossed her arms. Not in defiance or stubbornness, but holding herself, feeling vulnerable as Gerard's voice began to eat away at her.

“....look I just...I need to ask something of you and I don’t need you to judge or be snarky or-” 

“Amelie” he said, stern but gentle,” You know me better than that”

Of course she did, no matter how many times they disagree, poked or teased, when the time came he never questioned it and neither did she. Thus as she sighed, looking back at her best friend with a voice much weaker than intended, he didn’t even blink.  

 

“....I need to see her” 

 

He smiled, bringing his cell phone up as it buzzed. Perfect timing. 

“She’s already on her way”

 

* * *

 

Half way into classic horror movie number three, the door was being assaulted by loud repetitive knocks. 

Amelie, who was previously a lazy slug, head resting on his lap and making no movement whatsoever, suddenly shot up. But only to be thrown back down as Gabriel stood up and pushed her back. 

“I got it I got it” he mumbled, shaking his leg out that was on the verge of going numb, he reached the door and called out. 

“What’s the password?” 

Looking through the small eyehole, there she was, in that stupid hoodie with that stupid smile and an armful of what he requested in exchange for her visit. 

“Got your beer  _ compadre _ ~” she grinned, like the ray of sunshine she knew she was to save the moping french woman. 

“ _ Biene _ , you may pass”

Opening the door he held his arms out and the case of beer was placed in his grasp.    
  
Before she could ask, he gestured over to the couch. 

Shoes and hoodie were removed and Lena took a short running start to hop over the couch and disappear behind it, landing right on top of her. 

“HI LOVE I AM HERE” she giggled as Amelie groaned in pain.     
  
“ _ Mon deiu… _ .was that necessary…” 

Gabe rolled his eyes but smiled anyway, carefully and slowly placing each can in the fridge, giving them time to reunite properly. 

“Starting right now, you are starting over. So no more thinking about your bad day, ok?” she grinned, straddling her hips and sitting back, she crossed her arms in determination. 

Amelie huffed, putting on her best glare but even she couldn’t stop the smile forming on her lips, “Lena I swear if I’m bruised-”

Her words were cut short as hands suddenly grasped at her sides, sending her into a giggling frenzy.  
  
“C’mon, starting over! We got a deal?!” 

She squirmed underneath her fingers, struggling to worm her way out of the tickle attack but Lena leaned forward, peppering her neck with gentle kisses, causing her to squeak in such a way even Gabriel glanced out from the kitchen to make sure she was the same person. He had never not once ever heard her laugh this much before. 

“O...ok!!! Ok! Deal!!” she gasped, gently pushing her hands away but only to thread her fingers in between hers. 

Lena sat back up with a victorious grin on her face, closing her fingers around hers,“I don’t know what happened today, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but I’m here now to watch terrible movies with you until you forget all about it”

It took a moment for her to catch her breath, not from the tickle fight but more from the way this stupid girl literally jogged into her life, and was now looking at her like she was her entire universe. 

Sitting up on her elbows, she let go of her gentle grasp to reach up and brush away those obnoxious bangs from her eyes.

“I missed you  _ mon cherie _ ” she mumbled, she didn’t intend for it to be so weak, no not weak... soft. 

“Missed you too luv” 

Gabriel spent the remainder of the movie watching it from the kitchen, beer in hand and a new bag of popcorn in the microwave as activity from behind the couch became silent. 

 

* * *

 

 

**Jack. I need you over here ASAP.**

 

**I was on my way anyway what’s wrong?**

 

**I can’t feel my legs. I need extraction.**

 

**What are you talking about**

 

Jack had to stop in the middle of the sidewalk as a photo was sent, he took a double take at the attachment before laughing hysterically alone at his phone. 

Gabriel had sent an awkward selfie where he was being crushed between the edge of the couch and Amelie sleeping soundly on his lap with a head of brown spikes in her arms. 

  
  


**Oh my god that’s the cutest fucking thing**

 

**HELP ME**

 

**Ok ok I’m coming hang on**

 

* * *

 

Of course Jack kept his copy of the apartment’s key, their relationship was always up in the air, highs and lows all around but not once did he ever feel like truly throwing away the key. There was always that sliver of hope that kept the small golden key tucked away safely in his wallet.

He slowly unlocked the door, peeking inside and gently tapping the door frame with his knuckle. 

“Help…” Gabe whispered harshly, unable to turn around completely and face him with the two bodies practically on him. 

Slipping inside and slowly closing the door behind him, Jack approached cautiously. Sure enough they were in the same exact spot as the picture was. Sleeping soundly wrapped in each other’s arms and using Gabe as a pillow/source of warmth.  
  
“Aw….” he laughed, quickly slipping out his phone to take a better photo, now including Gabe’s frustrated sneer. 

“Jack I swear to God...” 

It took the meticulous planning of a jail break but they managed to free Gabe without waking the sleeping panther that is Amelie. Whereas the last time Gabe had shook the woman awake he left the apartment with a black eye. 

After saying a short prayer, Jack gently slipped his arms underneath her head, holding her in place while Gabe slipped out, inching his way off the couch as silently and slowly as possible. Like recreating the temple scene from Indiana Jones, Gabriel quickly grabbed the nearest pillow and with timed grace with a touch of pure luck, Jack’s arms slipped out to place her on the plush pillow. She wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between this and Gabe’s thighs. 

Even so, she shifted slightly, grumbling in doing so which sent both men back and out of arms reach. They held their breath for a moment, frozen in place in case she could detect movement and smell fear but in the end she was dead to the world and sleeping soundly. 

With a sigh of relief, and a slight limp in his walk as blood circulation began to return to his leg, Gabe gimped his way back into his room to change. 

Jack remained in the living room, silently watching. 

He had known Lena for years now, they met at a local army recruiting office, trained together and had every intention of fighting together. 

But in the end, she had to face her own battle alone. 

Despite the drastic and rather traumatizing surgeries at such a young age, she refused to be looked upon as a victim or survivor, someone to be pitied or treated differently. A select few knew about her condition, even fewer knew the details, and even so she would shrug off the questions with a laugh or avoid it completely. Her bright attitude and happy go lucky personality kept the friend group morale at a high but in doing so, she shouldered her pain by herself. 

Yet here she was. 

With Amelie’s arms protectively around her, keeping her close and safe.  

“Alright I’m ready to go when you are” Gabe whispered, slipping a beanie over his head.

“Not gonna lie, I was really unsure about her with Lena” he chuckled to himself, shaking his head as Gabe stood next to him, his eyes following his gaze at the two girls sleeping soundly. 

“But...they need each other don’t they?”

Lena mumbled, burrowing her face further in the crook of her neck, her own arms wrapped securely around her waist. 

Gabe found himself smiling, grabbing the small blanket that was kicked off earlier and gently draped it over them. He shot a quick glare at the blonde, awaiting a tease but received none but a small smile. 

Switching the lights off as he went, he silently slipped his hand into Jack’s, guiding him out the door and into the night.

 

* * *

 

The moment Lena was given the green light she was on her feet again and hit it running, much to Amelie’s frustration. She couldn’t stop her, not that she wanted to, but what the girl had in pure determination she lacked in moderation. Always pushing herself to the limit and beyond, which would be admirable if she didn’t have a hard time breathing after the third lap.

Thus one day, as Lena was about to pass by the ballet studio she was stopped dead in her tracks, realizing the tall beautiful woman standing outside was in fact her girlfriend who changed out of her ballet leotard in exchange for running shoes, waiting for her.

She wasn’t an experienced runner in the slightest, forcing Lena to slow down if she wanted to stay close and didn’t have nearly as much stamina which cut her running time in half. She did attempt to run off for another few laps but it was hard to say no to free frozen yogurt that Amelie just so happened to decide to end their run at.

With frozen treats in hand, the two walked back to the apartment and that was it. A routine was formed and within a few days pjs, shampoo and a few spare clothes suddenly appeared in Amelie’s room. 

“Can I feed her while you’re in the shower?!” 

Cauchemar didn’t seem mind the loud girl, she could honestly care less that Lena utterly refused to touch her or that her face and/or phone was pressed against the glass watching her devour a large grub. 

“Hahahaha, you’re gross” she would say, watching in both fear and fascination as the tarantula’s large fangs dug into the squirming bug. Her friends became well aware of Lena’s whereabouts when her snapchat story consisted of close up video of Cauchemar eating her dinner with Lena’s commentary or the occasional photo of Amelie looking serene with her pet in her grasp and Lena’s comment of “My girlfriend looks like a bond villain”.

Although her apartment became the base of operations, Amelie did go to Lena’s place once. Much to her embarrassment but they had no choice, Lena had run out of clothes and had no excuse for her not to come up with her. 

She lived a few blocks down with her two best friends, Lucio and Hana, which surprised Amelie as she entered she assumed at least ten people had lived there given the state of the apartment. Suddenly Gabe’s occasional beer can on the floor because he missed and was too lazy to pick it up didn’t seem so bad. It was messy, barely able to walk without stepping on empty cans or chip bags, and the music was nearly deafening. But Lucio was nice, incredibly so actually, he immediately greeted her, apologized for the mess, lowered the music and continued on a polite conversation with her while Lena sprinted into her room, throwing clothes and other toiletries into her bag. He did introduce Hana, who seemed to be missing at first until a hand shot up from a large computer station in the corner and waved a quick hello before resuming typing and intense mouse clicking. 

Just seconds before Lena appeared to drag her away and hide her shame, Lucio pulled out a business card from his wallet. 

“It’s her doctor, she’s stubborn and probably won’t tell you until you’re married but please have it just in case” 

Amelie made a mental note to put him under Gabriel’s list of “People to protect and kill for”, keep in mind this was a very short list. 

“That wasn’t so bad” 

“You didn’t see my room…” 

“ _Non_ , but that stuffed gorilla was cute” 

The tips of her ears burned red as she covered her face, “Oh my God….”

Rolling her eyes, Amelie reached out and hooked the blushing girl around the waist, bumping hips playfully. 

“Oh shut up it’s cute” 

They returned to her apartment, the contrast was now staggering, and Lena let out a long sigh of relief. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I love them both to death but I didn’t realize how much sleep I was missing out on until I came here. It’s so peaceful here” 

With a gentle nudge, Lena went into the shower first, leaving Amelie a moment alone with her phone and the business card in her hand. 

“Dr. Ziegler? Hello this is Lena’s girlfriend...I uh….have a question…” 

 

* * *

 

**Hey thanks for last week**

 

**You know I have your back whenever homie**

 

**Then...you’ll understand when I ask you for another favor?**

 

**Ok two in a row? That’s a bit excessive.**

 

**Large Pepperoni with pineapple and olives right?**

 

**…...I’m listening….**

 

* * *

 

A few days later the two returned home in record time, claiming too much frozen yogurt would slow them down and Amelie had an important phone call to make, or something of that nature in which the last stretch of sidewalk turned into a quick sprint, which turned into a race up the stairs and to the apartment. Lena would have won had she remembered her key, Amelie was a panting mess by the time she reached the door but managed a smug grin with the golden key in her grasp.

“Call it a tie?”   
  
“Deal” 

Closing the door behind her Lena went straight for the fridge, making herself at home while Amelie washed up. 

“Hm...it’s too quiet in here…” she mumbled to herself, leaning against the counter with a water bottle in hand,”Where’s Gabby?” 

“Ey you home?” 

She had to lean over the counter to find the source of the gruff voice, in which he was found outside on the balcony. 

“Hey...Gabe whatcha doin out there?” she asked innocently, noticing the large box of pizza, case of beer and a fancy looking cigar in his hand ready to be lit.    


“Oh you don’t know?” he laughed,”Have fun!” and with that he pulled the curtains and balcony door shut, leaving Lena confused and suddenly a little nervous. 

“You find him?” 

She turned back to the bathroom door and found herself doing a double take, she always did when Amelie let her hair down, it wasn’t often that she did but God she was stunning every time. Granted the small running shorts and sports bra did not help either. Face washed and fingers in her hair, she began the very meticulous chore of putting her hair back up with a small black hair tie in between her teeth as she joined her in the kitchen. 

“Uh...yeah he’s outside and closed the door?”

She stopped,”Wait really?” 

Amelie stared at the balcony, dropping the hair tie from her mouth in disbelief. Lena suddenly felt very nervous. 

“...yeah?” 

With a long sigh of relief, she let her hair back down, dropping her hands and letting it flow over her shoulders, “Oh thank God”

Lena blinked once, in which Amelie took long strides to be right in her space and grasp her face, pulling her in for a deep kiss. 

She made a small squeak in surprise, eyes widened at the seemingly random bout of affection not that she was complaining. It took her less than a few seconds to return the favor, slipping her arms around her center and holding her close but it took longer to realize she was being turned around and pushed back. A brief moment of separation and her hoodie was slipped up and off, dropped somewhere in the living room. Slowly it all clicked in place. 

“Oh” she said as she realized they were in her room and the door was kicked shut behind her. 

“Ooohhh” she said as her tank top was pulled off just seconds before being shoved back to lie on her bed. 

“Ok….ok now I get it” she grinned, as Amelie grabbed her by the back of her knees and dragged her close to the edge of the bed, meshing their hips together as she leaned in and proceeded to bite at an old hickey that was on the verge of healing.  

Satisfied with her small yelps of pain and sighs, at the mark returning full force, she stood up slowly peeling the sports up and off. 

Lena sat up on her elbows, staring up at her in awe while biting her knuckle. She had seen her in her bra all the time but did little to stop the fire in her gut and heart pounding in her chest. 

“I would like to take this moment to thank God and the universe”

Amelie froze in the middle of kicking her shoes off, “What?” 

“Bloody hell you’re gorgeous. Really, it’s like the world was like ‘Sorry for giving you a faulty vital organ, here have a super hot french girlfriend!’ ” she laughed, reaching out to pull her back in by the waist, deciding that their lips were apart for far too long. 

She took this opportunity to reach out and pull the brightly colored sports bra from her body much to Lena’s relief. They were exhausted, sore and still sweaty from the evening jog but they didn’t care. Amelie made a gentle suggestion of taking it to the shower later as her hands wandered. 

But just as her kisses trailed across her jawline, down her throat and across her chest, she found herself face to face with Lena’s scar in between her breasts, now much closer it was about as thick as her index finger, pale in comparison to the rest of skin tone. Placing a soft kiss directly on the scar, she lifted herself up and off her body. 

“Lena wait before we keep going, there is something I should tell you”

She blinked up at the woman for a moment, “Luv….I love you but you have godawful timing”

“I called Dr. Ziegler” 

That got her attention. Amelie sat back on her legs as Lena sat up.

“Why? Actually, wait how?”

“Lucio”

She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her face as she grumbled, “Damn that perfect human being…”

“I called to ask...if this was ok”

“You...called my cardiologist to ask if it’s ok to have sex?” Amelie nodded, a memory flashed over her eyes in realization, why every time they were in a heated moment she always stopped, looking nervous and hands hesitating,”...Wait is that why you’ve been…” 

“Look I don’t want you to have a heart attack while you’re riding my face ok? Is that a bad thing?” she crossed her arms defensively, doing her best to look stern despite the goofy smile on Lena’s face. 

“No but I really hope that’s a thing now-”

“Lena I’m serious” 

“And I am too” she smiled, reaching out to pull her hands out of their tight knot, “That is literally the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me ever” she smiled, gently brushing her thumb over her knuckles before placing a small kiss over them. 

A moment of comfortable silence washed over them as Amelie leaned in, resting her forehead against hers. Her fingers gently trailing across the long scar from top to bottom. She could feel her heart beat thumping against her rib cage with every touch. 

“That being said and you managing to get Gabe to lock himself outside I’m going to assume she gave you the green light?”

She nodded, reaching up and brushing away her bangs from her eyes, “Yes but now I’m asking you if you’re comfortable with it. I don’t want to-”

Lena gently grasped her hand, her eyes suddenly very serious, “Luv listen to me”

 

_ ”I want you to wreck me “ _

 

In an instant, her heart was somewhere in her throat as a sly smile grew on her face, “Alright but just so we’re clear”    
  
Amelie purred, pushing her back flat on the bed as her hips grounded against her leaving her breathless.

 

_“You asked for it “_

 

Lena never looked more terrified and excited in her life. 

___________________________________________________________________________

 

**Hey I’m heading out with Jack.**

 

**Ok be safe**

 

**What are you doing up?**

 

It took a moment to receive a reply, at first he assumed her to have fallen asleep. It was getting late and they only recently banged each other into unconsciousness. Lena was barely able to send a text out indicating it was safe to come back inside, it was riddled with terrible grammar and lewd comments, apparently Lena blacked out at some point and wanted to make sure Gabe was aware of how talented his roommate was. He was rather confident they both were asleep but a few seconds later a picture attachment was sent. 

Collecting his keys and prized beanie, he opened the photo and milliseconds of doing so he saved it. 

Lena was out like a light, face burrowed in a pillow and clutching Amelie’s hand as the french woman was directly behind her, exhausted but smiling with her face happily against the crazy brown sex hair, clearly looking at Lena in selfie mode in the dim lighting of her phone. 

 

**Admiring.**

 

**Gay**

 

**Shut up and tell Jack I said hi when you’re done making out in his jeep.**

 

**We got pretty lucky didn’t we?**

 

**Yeah we did**

 

**Buenos noches mi amiga  
**

  
**Bonne nuit mon ami**

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Learning to Coexist](https://archiveofourown.org/works/8533849) by [ParadoxMage](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ParadoxMage/pseuds/ParadoxMage)




End file.
